Keep Moving Forward
by zoesilver
Summary: Zoe Nightshade's life is turned upside down when her adoptive mother is murdered by a horrific monster. She must set out to find Camp Half Blood and try to create a new life for herself. With the help of new friends and a few minor gods, she may be able to make things work if she remembers to keep moving forward.
1. Chapter 1

Keep Moving Forward

**Chapter One**

As she pushed herself up off the ground she realized she still hadn't opened her eyes. It had been another long cold night in the woods and her down coat wouldn't hold up much longer. Her clothes were almost shredded and her head was pounding. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and reached up to feel the goose egg on the back of her head, rubbing it tenderly she thought back to how she'd gained the injury. The night before she had been running through the pitch black wilderness just praying to the gods that nothing would mess up her footing, usually her intuition was perfect, but just when she thought she was home free her foot got caught in a root and sent her flying. She hit her head on what she thought was a rock, pushed herself back onto her feet, and kept moving forward. That's what her adoptive mother always said, "keep moving forward," and she did. She had to.

She never actually saw what she'd been running from the night before but clearly it had never quite caught up to her. It was daylight now and that meant that fewer monsters would be out and about in the open. She had to make more progress on her journey or she would have another restless night. She stood up and worked her way out of her down coat, trying to lace it through her pack as best as possible. With the sun up it would be much too warm for most of her outfit, but the nights were still freezing. She quickly dug out a protein bar, shouldered her Northface backpack and started to move. She did everything while moving lately. No time for sleep more than hour naps. She had to find the camp.

As she walked through the woods moving slowly not trying to rush herself she thought back to her what happened two nights ago. She'd been asleep in her bed, her warm soft bed she now realized she'd taken for granted. She slept like a rock, so when she woke up at first she'd thought it was just a nightmare. Once she realized it wasn't a dream she ran into her mom's room to find the most horrific sight imaginable. She couldn't even think about it. She wanted nothing more than revenge on that monster for taking the only person she ever had.

A branch cracked behind her, pulling her out of her memories. She whipped her head around to scan the area behind her. She didn't see anything but that didn't mean she was safe. She wished she had a weapon, she found herself thinking that a lot lately. Even if she had a weapon she wouldn't know how to use it. She did have good instinct and a trusty down coat. She told herself the noise was nothing and kept moving forward. Always moving forward.

After another twenty minutes or so of walking she heard cars. She started to move towards the noise hoping it would take her to a town; she was running low on protein bars. When she got to the edge of the trees she saw a highway at the bottom of a steep hill. She was going to have to be careful working her way down. She was ready to be out of the woods though, and monsters rarely left the tree line they wouldn't risk being spotted by mortals. She'd gotten much better at all of this outdoorsy activity since everything happened. _I guess that's what you do_, she thought, _you get used to it or you don't survive._ She managed to make it down the hill with only adding one more rip to her already destroyed clothing and she dug her wallet out of her pack. Three hundred left in cash, she'd been lucky to be adopted by such a wealthy family. She had plenty of money to get by. She should be staying in hotels and eating more than protein bars, but she had no idea how long the money needed to last and was trying to spread it out.

She walked a couple miles along the highway before she reached what seemed to be a smaller town. Not too shabby of a town though they had a few nicer stores and dining establishments. Her first stop was a gas station, she was rather sick of the stares she'd been getting as she walked into town, like she was a cockroach or a rodent. She went into the bathroom and washed her dirt covered face and applied what little of the makeup she had brought. Looking down at her outfit she realized she had never wanted a change of clothes so bad in her life. Sighing, she left the bathroom and moved slowly through the isles looking for her favorite chocolate-chip cookie dough protein bars. When she came upon them she grabbed a handful and carried them to the counter. The store clerk eyed her warily. She knew she was a sight but ignored his looks, paid, and left as quickly and quietly as possible. When she stepped out into the parking lot the sun seemed brighter than before. She looked around at her nearby options and chose a Marshalls across the shopping center. When she stepped inside the air conditioner hit her like a tidal wave and she almost began to shiver. "Uhm, ma'am," she turned around to see a man in a blue vest looking down at her, his name tag read _Hi, my name is_ _Greg,_ "would you mind leaving your bag at the front of the store?" She knew he was nervous. He was wringing his hands and not making direct eye contact. She flashed him the biggest smile she could muster and replied with a quick "sure." He continued to stand over as she dropped her bag off of her shoulders and dug out her wallet, she ignored him and moved forward into the store.

She found the women's athletic section and was thrilled by the prices. Grabbing a couple pairs of dry fit leggings as well as three long sleeve, and two short sleeve shirts she moved toward the register. Everything totaled out to less than one hundred dollars. She was doing her best to do the math in her head, not having easy access to checking her bank account. She went into the bathrooms and changed pulling on a pair of leggings and one of the t-shirts. She grabbed her bag after stuffing the rest of the purchased clothes and her wallet inside and moved towards the door. "Have a nice day," the same man, Greg, said in a not so nice tone.

She walked outside, she was sick of walking and it was a rather hot day, hotter than it had been for a while. She decided to walk back to the gas station and find a phone. She came upon a dirty old pay phone outside. She called for a cab.

Thirty minutes later a dusty, yellow car pulled up outside the gas station. She stood, her back hurting from sitting on the curb, or from sleeping on the ground, she wasn't entirely sure. Crawling onto the cracked leather seats she directed the driver towards Manhattan. "Manhattan?!" he seemed shocked, of course he did, she had no idea where she even was, "That is at least two hour drive," he exclaimed with a thick accent she didn't recognize. "I can pay don't worry, just drive," she was trying to sound firm but she was so tired that it almost came out as a question rather than a demand. The driver didn't respond and just did as he was told. She settled in watching the meter tick on the front dash until her eyes were no longer open.

The dreams were the worst. There was always screaming, she hated the screaming. Her ears felt like they would bleed. She watched as blood soaked the white sheets and the woman on the bed's screams became muffled and eventually stopped. The monster was so gruesome and grotesque, her mind almost made him worse every night. She stood in the doorway silent, unable to move a muscle until his head slowly turned and he made perfect eye contact "I'm coming for you Zoe. I'm coming." She woke up with a startled gasp. She'd never seen his face before and didn't know what to make of it.

"We in Manhattan, where I take you now?" the driver asked in his strange accent, obviously annoyed at her for falling asleep in his cab. Had she really slept for two hours? She needed the sleep, but she couldn't get the monster's horrifying image out of her mind, his blood red eyes…. "Where I go?" he was practically shouting at her. She noticed a gas station and a petsmart through the window, across the street were some woods. "Here is fine," she replied pulling her wallet out again. She paid the driver and climbed out walking towards the stores ahead of her. _Keep moving forward, _ she thought, _you're in Manhattan all you have to do is find the camp._

**Chapter Two**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Zoe stood in the parking lot of the Petsmart when she finally heard the cabbie peel out behind her and take off. She watched the many people mull about going about their daily lives, not even taking notice of the girl. She liked that. Not being noticed. It made everything a lot easier. There wasn't much else besides a gas station so she started to move inside.

She stopped at the sidewalk in front of the store taking notice of a local adoption agency and their many crates full of waging tails, as people moved to and fro in front of the cages the animals inside barked and whined clearly wanting nothing more than to be chosen. She noticed that in one of the larger cages was a dog with the most blindingly golden fur she'd ever seen. Growing up she'd always wanted a dog, but her adoptive mother had been allergic, she sighed, that wasn't a problem anymore.

Zoe ventured closer to the cage and the dog stood on all four legs looking directly into her eyes. _I am Krysanthe, the golden flower. _Zoe jumped back startled, now she was hearing voices?! This definitely was not good. _Do not be startled human I can access your thoughts because we were destined to meet. Our souls are bonded as one, a gift from your father Atlas. _That name. She had not heard it in years. The man who gave her away to her adoptive mother, she could see him now with his broad thick shoulders and pale face. "I cannot care for her, Marissa, not the way you can. Her life will be much easier, in your care she will be safe." Those were the last words she ever heard escape his lips. She was only six at the time when she watched him walk out the door and out of her life, leaving her with a total stranger.

She glanced back at the golden retriever. "Well I'd love to take you with me Krysanthe, but I don't exactly have two hundred dollars to blow," she said flicking the adoption tag zip tied to the cage. _Not a problem,_ _step back please._ Zoe took a few tentative steps backwards, and watched as Krysanthe began to glow even brighter than before. A golden, yellow light overtook the entire parking lot it seemed for a matter of a few seconds. When she looked back the dog's cage was gone and they made direct eye contact. Zoe got the idea, run. So they ran.

They made it to the edge of the woods when they decided to finally look back. She looked down at her new companion in shock. "What was that?!" The dog looked at her as if she was acting crazy, and dogs blew up their cages every day. _We're close to the camp, that's what you're looking for correct? _Zoe mustered a simple "yeah." She followed the golden retriever through the woods. They walked in silence. She wasn't sure how long it had been since they'd left the Petsmart. She wasn't even sure where they were going, but she decided to trust Krysanthe.

They came upon a clearing in the trees. At the far end she noticed a hill and at the very top a sign held up by two pillars and carved in ancient Greek. Her mind deciphered the letters and read _Camp Half-Blood._ She'd made it. She noticed something strange, a sort of wavy effect surrounding the camp, barely noticeable by the eye, sort of like a border. She moved towards the camp with slow, careful steps, Krysanthe by her side. They had almost made it to the entrance when she heard a loud snarl from behind her. Krysanthe whipped around and let out a low growl baring her teeth. Zoe turned slowly, again wishing she had a weapon, anything.

Out of the trees poked a lion's head growling and snarling. Zoe began to quiver with fear at the idea of an escaped hungry lion in the forest, and then she thought back to her mythology lessons in school. She came to the conclusion at the same time that a long snake tail reached around and tried to knock both of them backwards. She jumped back and the tail completely missed Krysanthe. "That's a Chimera!" she shouted. The monster emerged completely into the clearing. She could see it clearly now in the open. It had not only a lion's head but also the head of a goat. Its front claws were lion like and its back legs had goat hooves, but the worst part had to be that long snake tail. Zoe hated snakes.

Zoe had almost backed up as far as she could, not sure what else she could do without a weapon. The monster looked like it was ready to pounce at her any minute, and they hadn't lost eye contact since she'd turned around to look at it. She thought all hope was lost when out of nowhere she heard someone scream like Tarzan. A boy with brown hair came running down the hill with his sword raised. A girl with blonde hair was trailing behind him. "Percy!" she yelled, "Slow down! You can't take on every monster on your own!" Zoe just stood and stared at them wide eyed not sure what to do until she heard Krysanthe inside her mind, _Go! Get inside the camps borders and let them handle the monster we can watch from where it's safe._ Zoe was just one step from inside the borders when the monsters tail came around again and hit her right in the stomach and knocked her back. She hit her head and all she could think was _This is it. I'm dead. I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dead. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

When she woke up she was looking at a ceiling. Which was so strange since it had been weeks since she'd been anywhere with a ceiling. "I think she's awake, Chiron," a boy's voice said. "Where am I?! Who are you?! Where's my dog?!" she yelled shooting straight up in the bed. She realized that wasn't a very good idea realizing she was suddenly very dizzy she leaned over and hurled onto the floor. "Great first impression," the same boy said. He was beginning to be a pain in her butt. Krysanthe came over to sniff at the mess on the floor. "No," Zoe muttered, she used all of her strength yelling just a second ago. A man walked over and began to clean it up before the dog could get to it. No, not a man. "Why are you a horse?" Zoe asked the man, sounding not surprised, but instead annoyed, "I just cannot handle how weird this day has been." "Ha! You were born into the wrong world for that!" She was getting really sick of this kid "Who the heck are you?" she asked, "and when can you leave?" He looked shocked but got the message and slipped out of the room.

"Well then," the weird horse-man-guy-thing looked her up and down, "would you like explaining now, or would you like to sleep more?" "Explain," she said without hesitation. The old man sighed, "Well first off, I'm a centaur." She remembered those from school. Then she remembered how much her head hurt. "Keep talking, where am I?" She lay back down carefully and patted the couch, calling Krysanthe over.

He gave her the run down. The whole: yada yada demigod, godly parent this and that, different cabins, monsters, magic animals (which explained her dog). She just took it all in. Then he paused, "Except you are completely different." She looked at him with a very dirty, 'are you freaking kidding me' look. He sighed again, "You, Zoe, you are the daughter of Atlas." "Yeah I know," she continued to look at him with the same dirty look. "Yes, and Atlas is one of the Titans. Your mother is Hesperus; you were to be one of the Hesperides. A nymph of a blissful garden located in the Atlas Mountains." She still didn't understand. "Okay? Well what do I do with that information?" Chiron shook his head, "Most demigods want to know where they came from. I'm not sure what else to tell you." Krysanthe stood up, _Zoe I know you are upset with your father but be nice to this man, he is trying to help. _"I'm not really feeling like being nice to anyone right now, I'm not even sure how I got here," she replied. "Here," Chiron handed her a square piece of something, "eat this." She took a bite and looked away until he left the room.

Of course the annoying boy had to be the one to show her around. Her head wasn't really feeling any better, and now that she was safe her anger was really starting to set in. "Usually you'd stay in this cabin," he told her as they passed a small building practically overflowing with kids. She rolled her eyes. "buuuut," he dragged out his words, she hated that, she just didn't like this kid, "Chiron says you can't fit your dog in there with you." Krysanthe growled at him, and he looked at her a little nervous. She smiled at her dog _that's my girl_, she thought. "What's your name anyways?" she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Percy," he replied quickly, "so I was saying that Chrion insists you stay in my cabin with me."

A blonde girl ran up to them. "Percy!" she seemed way too happy to see this kid then she turned towards Zoe still smiling, "Hey! You're awake how do you feel?" "Pretty awful," she replied. Krysanthe's look screamed disapproval of her tone. "You're the one who saved me aren't you?" Zoe looked back to the blonde girl. She had scary dark gray eyes, but a friendly smile. It was weird. "Actually," Percy jumped in, "**we** saved you." Both Zoe and the blonde girl rolled their eyes. She reached out a hand, "I'm Annabeth." Zoe took it and forced a smile. Annabeth looked back to Percy, "If you don't mind I need to steal him away from you for a bit." "Oh please!" Zoe sounded more grateful than she had all day. They walked away and into one of the cabins. Zoe looked at Krysanthe and then headed towards the lake. She was ready to be alone again.

When they got to the lake they found a dock and sat down she dangled her feet into the water and watched Krysanthe take a drink. Zoe sighed. Today had been even more stressful than running from all the monsters in the woods, and then she didn't even have her dog. "I don't want to have to start dealing with all the stuff about my dad now. I went for ten years not thinking about it and I was just fine." A tear fell down her cheek. "I miss my mom, my real mom, the one who took care of me all that time." Krysanthe laid her head in her lap and Zoe stroked her shimmery, golden fur. They sat there like that for what felt like forever until the sky turned pink and orange and she watched the sun sink into the river and she could hear the dog snoring.


End file.
